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The Pale Cat (plot)
Characters *Astrid: The older child and protagonist of the story. *Tore: Astrid's younger brother. *The Pale Cat: a male magic user of the evil kind (the children assumes it's a male witch) *The Wood-cutter: standard fairytale hero figure. Settings Fairy tale. The children live in a small village, the cat's cottage is somewhere in the woodlands. Pre-industrial. Research list Plot sketch *'Story goal:' Escape *Subplot threads: 1. **2. **3. **4. **5. **6. **7. *Additional: *Plot tension: *Release: *Downtime: *Black moment: *Resolution: *After effects of resolution: Summary outline (free-form chronological summary of all introductory scenes) Miscellaneous scene notes (free form summary of scenes appearing in the middle portion) Closing scene notes (scenes appearing in the closing portion) Story evolution - the beginning #'Conflict is introduced:' The children are kidnapped by the pale cat #'Story goal is introduced:' Escape and get home #'Characters are outfitted for their tasks:' Astrid and Tore #Detail each character's strength and weaknesses: ##Astrid ##Tore Story evolution - the middle #Characters design short-term goals to reach the story goal ##Astrid ##Tore #Quest to reach the story goal begins #First short term goals are thwarted. #Characters react with disappointment ##Astrid ##Tore #stakes of conflict are raised #characters react to the conflict ##Astrid ##Tore #characters revise old or design new short-term goals. ##Astrid ##Tore #quest to reach the story goal is continued #short-term goals are again thwarted #characters react with disappointment #stakes of the conflict are raised #characters react to the conflict #Downtime begins #characters revise old or design new short-term goals with renewed vigor #the quest to reach the story goal continues, but instability abounds #the black moment begins #the characters react to the black moment Story evolution - the end #a pivotal, life-changing event occurs #characters modify short-term goals one last time #the showdown begins #the opposition is vanquished and the conflict ends #the story goal is achieved. #Characters react to the resolution of the plot and the subplots #the relationship black moment is addressed (romance novels only) #Characters revise their life goals #Possible re-emergence of the conflict or opposition Old notes 'Plot' *The children see the cat for the first time. Establish the children as living a rural life in a village in a valley and the cat as having cream-coloured pelt and green eyes. The children assume that the cat is a stray. *Establish some kind of typical fairytale hero-figure. (woodcutter) *One evening the children pets the cat for the first time, and are amazed at how soft the fur is. *Astrid decides that they should follow the cat and they pull on warm outdoor clothing against the evening chill. *They walk for a long time through the forest, deeper and deeper. It gets darker and darker. Finally they see the light of a cottage further ahead. *They peer in through a window and see a small workshop. An old woman in front of a loom, a gorgeous weave growing out of her work. A boy sat by a table carving something out of a block of wood and a girl in her late teens is mending a coat. *Since it is far too dark to turn back to the forest now, they decide to knock on the door. *Since no one opened to door they open it themselves and go in. The cat follows them in and they close the door. *They look everywhere, but can’t find anyone. Rather, the house looks completely deserted. They come to the conclusion that there has to be some kind of spell on the house. *They are just about to go when they notice that the cat is gone. As they turn around to look for it they suddenly come face to face with a young man with brilliantly green eyes and the same creamy blond hair colour as the pelt of the cat. The man also shows some really sharp teeth when he smiles at them and tease them for being worried about him. *He explains that the people they saw where merely illusions of the dead, and that the children will take their place as his servants. *The children tries to argue that their parents would be looking for them, but the man gloats that the house only can be found if he is the one leading the way. *He throws his coat to Astrid and tells her to mend it. It’s the same one they had seen through the window. *The younger child berates Astrid for getting them into such a situation and lays up a plan for how to trick the he-witch into leading the designated hero to the cottage. *When Astrid mends the coat she finds a note from the girl who she had seen mending it through the window. She makes her own plan for how to defeat the cat witch. *When the younger child’s plan fails, Astrid puts her own plan in motion and kills the cat witch. Now that the witch is dead they have no problem leaving the cottage and going back to their parents. 'Notes' The first time Astrid and Tore noticed the pale cat was in early August, and both were too burdened with their respective chores to give it much thought. The farm and the nearby village held plenty of strays and if this one seemed exceptionally well-fed, well, then there had probably been plenty of vermin to catch this year. 'Original version (written aprox. 2002)' Det var en gång två barn som bodde i en by i en dal. En kväll fick dom se en katt komma gående. Dom båda barnen hade sett katten förr och klappade den. Dom förvånades över hur mjuk pälsen var, nästan som silke. Dom hade alltid trott att det var en kringgående vildkatt som ingen tog hand om. Katten gick en bit bort och stannade, med en uppfodrande blick på barnen. Det äldre av barnen, en flicka som hette Astrid, bestämde att dom skulle följa efter katten. Dom drog på sig ytterkläder som skulle skydda mot den kyliga kvällsluften och följde efter katten. Efter att ha gått både länge och väl genom en skog som bara blev mörkare och mörkare upptäckte barnen ljus från en stuga längre fram. Dom kikade in genom ett fönster och såg att innanför fanns en liten verkstad. En gammal gumma satt vid en vävstol och arbetade fram ett praktfullt tyg. Vid ett bord satt en pojke och snidade något medan en flicka i övre tonåren lagade en rock . Det var alldeles för mörkt för att gå tillbaka genom skogen nu, så barnen bestämde sig för att knacka på. Då ingen öppnade gläntade dom försiktigt på dörren och gick in. Hur mycket dom än letade kunde dom inte hitta en människa, huset var tomt. Barnen konstaterade att det måste vara någon sorts förtrollning över huset – ett utmärkt exempel på barns förmåga att hitta enkla och lagom rationella förklaringar. Dom skulle just gå ut igen när dom märkte att katten var borta. Dom kom tydligt ihåg att den hade följt med in, och sen hade dom ju stängt dörren, så den måste fortfarande vara i huset! När dom vände om för att leta reda på katten stod dom plötsligt öga mot öga med en ung man med briljant gröna ögon och samma bleka hårfärg som katten hade haft. Mannen log mot barnen och visade ett par skarpa huggtänder. ”Välkommna! Ni behöver inte oroa er för mig, jag hittar utmärkt här inne! Bekymmra er heller inte för människorna ni såg genom fönstret, dom var bara en synvilla och har varit döda länge. Ni ska ta deras plats som mina tjänare.” Barnen försökte protestera, försökte säga att deras föräldrar skulle leta efter dem, men kattmannen bara skrattade. ”Dumma barn! Det här huset går bara att hitta om jag visar vägen.” Han tog av sig sin rock och slängde den till Astrid. Det var samma rock som dom sett genom fönstret. ”Börja med att laga min rock.” Category:All Pages Category:Stories Category:WIP